: a preliminary survey to gain information;
especially
: an exploratory military survey of enemy territory
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Examples of reconnaissance in a Sentence
There are two helicopters available for reconnaissance.
They did a reconnaissance of the enemy's position.
Recent Examples of reconnaissance from the Web
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Troops there will lend air support, help with reconnaissance and construction of border infrastructure and give logistics support.
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Soldiers do such things as carve out trails, build roads, operate sensitive surveillance technology and conduct reconnaissance.
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Sometimes though your high flying reconnaissance mission turns up a real mystery.
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Then came the Nazi invasion of Europe and World War II, in which Saint-Exupéry served as a reconnaissance pilot.
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On a reconnaissance mission, Barry tracks the trainer into an acting class, and when he’s ambushed into serving as a scene partner, Barry soaks up a special energy from the footlights.
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Bolsover, who is well versed in the Siberian tiger country to the south, is visiting Kamchatka for the first time, on a reconnaissance mission.
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In particular, America’s armed forces would like to use AI to help with reconnaissance.
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Neither had Minato on their radar, which leads one to question the fitness of U.S. military reconnaissance.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reconnaissance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of reconnaissance
French, literally, recognition, from Middle French reconoissance, from Old French reconoistre to recognize
RECONNAISSANCE Defined for English Language Learners
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: military activity in which soldiers, airplanes, etc., are sent to find out information about an enemy
RECONNAISSANCE Defined for Kids
: a survey (as of enemy territory) to get information
Learn More about reconnaissance
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Spanish Central: Translation of reconnaissance Nglish: Translation of reconnaissance for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of reconnaissance for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about reconnaissance
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